Big Data Breaches — The Shape of Things to Come

Get ready for more data breaches. Many more. Now that the impact of the Target data breach has grown from 40 million card members to 70 million, and to perhaps as high as 110 million, prepare for all sorts of mayhem because this data theft is just the start of things to come.

Yesterday before Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder said, “The Department of Justice takes seriously reports of any data breach, particularly those involving personally identifiable or financial information, and looks into allegations that are brought to its attention.” Those are tough words but as long as cyberthieves operate beyond American borders, apprehension and prosecution will be little more than an empty threat.

Think about it — nearly two months have passed since the breach was announced and today nobody at Target knows the depth of the damage. Worse, when disaster struck, Target exacerbated matters by reversing course on a number of earlier decisions. First we were told that PIN information was safe, but then Target sheepishly announced that it was stolen too. Incomplete information erodes the consumer confidence in brands we have known for years.